Get Your BaygrASS to Annapolis for Baygrass Festival: 2026 Annapolis Baygrass Festival Review

Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival took place at Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis, MD, on September 19 & 20, 2026.  Headliners Little Feat and Sam Bush were joined by Yonder Mountain String Band, Béla Fleck: My Bluegrass Heart, Shadowgrass, Mountain Grass Unit, and many more.  The festival is also a fundraiser, supporting missions to heal the Chesapeake Bay and support mental health initiatives. 

 It should come as no surprise that Annapolis Baygrass Festival was, once again, a hit.

Following the inaugural fest in 2023, Festy GoNuts wrote how Baygrass already felt like home. In 2024, we doubled down, noting how returning to the fest in year 2 already felt like a reunion.  And last year we couldn’t help sharing the fact that Baygrass was now a premiere destination festival.

So we don’t have to tell you how good Annapolis Baygrass Festival is any more.

In fact, you have voted for Baygrass in the annual Festy Awards in each of its years – awarding the festival the Best New Festival award in 2023, followed by the Overall Best Festival in 2024, and last year awarding it the 2025 Best Waterside Festival – among a slew of other accolades, mentions and runners-up.  And just recently, the IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) Awards finally joined the Festy GoNuts readers in your recognition, putting Baygrass amongst the nominees for Event of the Year.

So, yeah.  You get it.

We don’t have to tell you how Baygrass consistently brings in the best lineups of the year.  After last year’s Festy Award-winning Best Festival Lineup, we couldn’t wait to see what was coming next.  For 2026, Baygrass went LEGENDARY, bringing in iconic musical pioneer and household name, Little Feat.

Mic drop.

To ice that cake, the list of legends continued with Béla Fleck: My Bluegrass Heart (with equally legendary Michael Cleveland), Sam Bush, Yonder Mountain String Band, and Sister Sadie.  They tapped rising stars and potential future legends in Mountain Grass Unit, Shadowgrass, Fireside Collective and Geraldine.   Baygrass also pushed the boundaries, hinting that the “grass” in their namesake refers more to coastal vegetation than to the music.  Jammy Buffet, Midnight North, Sycthian, Tophouse, and Melody Trucks & the Fitzkee Brothers rocked the beach.

We don’t have to talk about how good that was.

And we surely don’t need to tell you about the festival itself.  You’ve already experienced or heard about the immaculate festival grounds.   You know that it is more than the festival’s dedication to heal the Bay – the festival itself goes above and beyond to create no impact on the gorgeous State Park land that allows us to make a home for 2 days.  There’s a reason you voted Baygrass the Greenest Festival in 2025. You know.

You also know about the festival’s commitment to mental health awareness, and how the festival Workshops help to enforce that commitment.   When you get to experience Cris Jacobs discussing his own struggles with mental health, openly sharing songs and stories about his journey, you get it.   This festival actually walks the walk.

We certainly don’t need to tell you about the beach.  By now you are well aware that Annapolis Baygrass has one of the most unique and beautiful settings you’ll find.  2 side-by-side stages adjacent to the Bay, easily seen and heard from anywhere on the grounds: with your feet in the water, while perusing the actually good festival vendors, dancing on the lawn, or grabbing a beer and a snack.

Speaking of food – Baygrass talks about an ‘elevated festival experience,’ and we can certainly attest to the quality of food at the festival.  You know about the crab cakes, oysters, wood-fired pizza, po’ boys, and pretzels.  The Baytoberfest Beer Garden’s craft brews and table games, the Bay Crush Bar, and the VIP Makers Mark tastings.

Oh yeah.  VIP.  You know about that, right?

If not, no biggie – you still get to experience the best of Baygrass.  But if you do know about VIP, well, let’s just keep it our secret.  We won’t talk about the oyster happy hour, or the crab cake and pit beef dinners.  No one needs to know about the private concerts, or the luxury toilets.

We’ll keep that between us.

In fact, we don’t need to go on – you know the rest.

There’s a reason Baygrass has been referred to as “the Goldilocks” festival.

But you know that.

So get your Baygrass to Annapolis for Annapolis Baygrass Festival 2027 – September 18 & 19!

See you there.